


Never Let This Go

by vdova



Category: Marvel, Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, Red Room (Marvel), bucky is stupidly in love with nat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 05:25:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9220652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vdova/pseuds/vdova
Summary: Early on Christmas morning, her soldier manages to surprise her.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CopperCrane2](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CopperCrane2/gifts).



There wasn’t much of a concept of ‘holidays’ in the Red Room. If anything, they were the perfect day to get deployed. People often weren’t on their guard while with their loved ones; it was the best time to take care of business that would see other difficulties the other days out of the year.  


They certainly had seasons, though, and there was a massive amount of snow on the ground when Natalia woke up. Decades of dealing with snow and she still found the weather beautiful, especially while safely in a warm bed with someone next to her. A specific someone who was stirring and starting to press kisses against her exposed side. She let out a low chuckle, shifting to run a hand through his hair without turning to look. “Zvezda moya, your lips are cold,” she said, tugging gently on his hair.  


“Thought you liked cold,” the soldier shot back, shifting to press kisses against her throat and jawline. His metal arm gently turned Natalia’s head so he could kiss her on the lips, “You at least thought so last night. Or was the thing with the ice-”  


Natalia smacked him gently, rolling out of bed and dragging the comforter along with her. She moved to sit in the window of her room, sighing peacefully. “It’s funny. I hated the snow as a girl. It meant our camp would be wet when I woke up. It’s nice seeing it from the warmth of a room.”  


The soldier sat up, a gentle smile on his face. The pair didn’t get a lot of quiet moments, not when they had to be oh so careful in even speaking with each other. But in the pale light of dawn, her red hair spilling over her shoulder and sticking up at odd angles, the soldier could feel his heart swell. He could feel that he did still, in fact, have a heart. Worried his mind was about to take a right turn and careen over the edge of reality, he cleared his throat and said, “It’s Christmas, you know.”  


There was a moment pause as Natalia breathed against the window pane and ran a finger through it before turning to give her soldier a puzzled look. “Does the Red Room celebrate holidays? Headmistress said I had a mission today. Assuming it’s an assassination, she liked my last w…” she trailed off, cocking a brow. “You celebrate Christmas?”  


The soldier shrugged, “I don’t know. But it’s a holiday to spend with family and friends, right? To give gifts?”  


There was an odd tone to his voice, causing Natalia to glance around the room for something out of place. When she looked back to him, there was a small wrapped box in his hand. It took a special person to pull such a slight of hand around her, but leave it to the man that trained her to do such a thing. She pushed out of the window, moving back to sit next to him. “I have so many questions right now,” she managed, a little speechless. It’d been years since the holiday hadn’t just blown right by her, only ever relevant when she and Ivan were in a town that had some reference to the festivities. One particular solstice had been the perfect venue to weasel a large sum of money away from a corrupt man, but the winter months normally just spelled disaster in terms of camping outside. So the idea of sitting next to someone she cared deeply for as he held a little wrapped box was a foreign concept to her.  


“I mean, it’s for you. In case that’s one of the questions. And I’d like you to open it before I sneak back into my room.” The blunt edge in his voice was terrifying to many of the other girls, but it was endearing to her. Especially when it felt like time was always of the essence.  


There was still a moment of hesitation in her actions, but she still reached slowly for the box. The soldier smiled patiently, though he eventually reached out to grab her wrist and flip her hand over, dropping the box into her now outstretched palm. “I- thank you?” she murmured, the thanks given in the form of a question. It felt out of place in their current circumstances, the words meant more for praise during training. “I didn’t see where you pulled this from. Please tell me it wasn’t actually out of your ass.”  


The soldier laughed quietly, “Open your damn present and maybe I’ll tell you.”  


Natalia thought about making a quip, but the oddly determined look on his face killed the words before she could barely think of them. Leave it to her trainer to make a present serious. Half her attention still on his face, she lifted the lid off the box. Her attention quickly shifted completely to the box, mouth gaping slightly. Inside the box was a necklace, the pendant a red stone wrapped in silver and black wire. It wasn’t very big, maybe the size of her pinkie nail, but it didn’t stop her from immediately tugging it out of the box and rolling it between her fingers. “I… help me get it on?” She shifted on the bed, turning her back to him and brushing her hair up off her neck with one hand while holding the necklace loosely in the other.  


With both hands free, the blanket slid back down around her hips, leaving her entire back exposed. There was the familiar smattering of freckles across her back and shoulders, but it was the vulnerability that made his heart do little flip flops. Any man before who had seen her even close to this was surely dead, a knife in his gut or a blade in his throat. And yet there he was, clasping a necklace around her throat and pressing kisses to smooth skin. It was an honor to be near her, the quiet sigh she let out an absolute joy. “It suits you. Should be easy enough to hide under your suit, thought it might-”  


“Zvezda moya,” she cut in, turning back to look at him, “You can stop babbling. I love it.”  


It was hard not to grin at such a phrase, and he leaned down to press a kiss to her nose in response. Her brow furrowed suddenly, however, and he pulled back. “Something wrong?”  


“I didn’t get you anything. I didn’t even consider the holiday and-”  


It was then his turn to cut in, kissing her, choking off whatever rant she was about to go on. “Nothing could make me happier than you do right now. You’ve already given me the best gift.”  


There weren’t many words to be shared after that, the pair too busy enjoying each other’s company. Neither knew just how short lived their little slice of happiness was to be, but the day eventually came where they were torn away from each other. Most of Natalia’s belongings were destroyed or taken to ensure her complete obedience, but the little red pendant managed to stay with her for years. Even when her trainer, her star, was scrubbed from her memory to make way for more “agreeable” memories and thoughts, the pendant stayed. It was a fond memory and a calming item, even when she lacked her memories. And it caused quite the shock when Bucky saw it again, decades later.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompts I got were super open ended, so I kinda mashed together the 'How BuckyNat spend Christmas Day' and open red room era. I had a few other ideas that went no where (don't drink and plot, kids), but I love nothing more than Bucky fawning over Nat in any part of their timeline.


End file.
